Macron, Sun King turned Sleep King in ‘state of the union’ address

French President Emmanuel Macron's "state of the union" speech — snoozefest or show of strength? Depends on where you live. The French and German press had wildly different interpretations of Macron's performance at Versailles, where the president promised to deliver on his campaign pledges and tried to reinforce a "spirit of conquest."

France

The French press was largely left cold. The papers accused Macron of largely ducking from controversial matters, leaving the nitty-gritty for his prime minister Edouard Philippe and cabinet. Le Figaro led with "Macron leaves tricky topics to Philippe" and called the speech a "dissertation," referring to his underwhelming delivery. (Pictures of some MPs caught dozing led the press to dub the new president the "Sleep King," a play on the Sun King, or Louis XIV.) To left-leaning Libération, Macron's speech had shape but no substance, while Le Monde accused Macron of failing to share power.

Germany

Elsewhere, however, Macronmania was in full flow. The German press called Macron a man on a mission and saw urgency in his speech. The Frankfurter Allgemeine led with "Macron wants to change France's voting rights. If needed Macron wants to push reforms through a referendum." The Süddeutsche Zeitung had a similar headline — "Macron promises 'radical new way'" — and called the president's agenda "politically explosive."

The German press also focused on the ruling Christian Democrats' joint election manifesto with their Bavarian coalition partner CSU, which emphasizes greater employment opportunities and tax cuts.

Belgium

The Belgian press also had its share of Macron on the front pages. Le Soir led with the headline, "Macron shakes up France," while De Tijd mentioned Macron's "new way" of leading France. French-speaking Le Soir also published an interview with the EU's anti-terror chief Gilles de Kerchove on what Europe needs to do to combat terror. Dutch-speaking De Standaard led with a story on the Belgian labor minister's call to allow authorities to investigate discriminatory practices in the labor market while undercover.

United Kingdom

The saga over salary caps for public sector employees continues. The Mirror made a full-throated call for ending the cap, with the headline, "Give heroes a decent rise." The front page — with pictures of emergency service officials at the scene of the terror attacks on Westminster and London Bridge, in Manchester and at Grenfell Tower — called Prime Minister Theresa May to "put your money where your mouth is." The Times led with "Scrap tax cuts to boost state pay, say ministers," while the Guardian led with a report on the scale of public sector salary cuts. Also in the news: an impending heat wave, an NHS scandal from the '70s, and billionaire Mike Ashley's alcohol-fueled style of management.

wow

Macron is both pro-EU and overwhelmingly pro-france (which seems like a contradiction) because he believes France can control all of the EU, now France is not the little brother behind the UK all the time.

He really thinks France will rule the whole of Europe which is why it is not a contradiction what he is doing.